His image
has been replicated countless times in churches and artwork, but a team
of Spanish archaeologists believe they have found one of the earliest
images of Jesus.

A
mysterious underground room dating from between the sixth and seventh
century AD holds an image of a young man with curly hair, who appears to
be giving a blessing among other Coptic images.

The
Catalan experts who discovered the site in the ancient Egyptian city of
Oxyrhynchus think it was the final resting place for a writer and a
number of priests.

+4

A miraculous discovery! An underground room
dating from the sixth century holds an image of a young man with curly
hair, who appears to be giving a blessing (pictured) and one expert
thinks it could be one of the earliest paintings of Jesus Christ. The
image, which is seen here, has been protected from the sun with a thin
layer of material

THE UNDERGROUND ROOM

The
structure dates from between the sixth and seventh century AD in the
Coptic period and holds what could be an image of Jesus.

It shows a young man with curly hair, dressed in a short tunic and with his hand raised as if giving a blessing

The
room is thought to be a tomb for a writer and several priests, based
upon artefacts found inside it, including a metallic ink well.

It
lies in what was the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus on a processional
route between the Nile and a temple dedicated to Osiris - the ancient
Egyptian god of the underworld

There
is another mysterious structure closeby, linked with a flight of
well-worn steps, which experts think might be another temple.

The find
has been heralded as ‘exceptional’ by Josep Padró who is leading the
exhibition and said the figure accompanies symbols and images of plants
that are thought to date from the Coptic period of the first Christians.

Dr
Padró, Emeritus Professor at the University of Barcelona, told La
Vanguardia newspaper that the figure is that of ‘a young man with curly
hair, dressed in a short tunic and with his hand raised as if giving a
blessing.’

‘We could be dealing with a very early image of Jesus Christ.’

Archaeologists
are now working to translate inscriptions surrounding the figure in the
painting on the wall of the rectangular crypt in a bid to ascertain the
man’s identity.

The underground structure measures around eight metres long and four metres deep.

Experts
from the University of Barcelona, the Catalan Egyptology Society and
the University of Montpellier are also unsure of what the function of
structure originally was, but said that the underground stone structure
is ‘excellent’ quality.

+4

Ancient centre: The Catalan experts who
discovered the site in the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus (marked
on the map) think it was the final resting place for a writer and a
number of priests

Tools of the trade: The team of archaeologists
also found working tools of a scribe that were buried in the tomb. They
include a metallic ink pot which is still full of ink and two new pens
for the pens (pictured) for the deceased to write during the eternal
life

They also found working tools of a scribe that was buried in the tomb.

They
include a metallic ink pot which is still full of ink and two new pens
for the pens for the deceased to write during the eternal life.

Dr
Padró said: ‘The archaeological site of Oxyrhynchus is known for the
thousands of papyri found there, but any scribe was found to date.’

While
there were no inscriptions hinting at the identity of the deceased, the
remains show that the scribe was probably around 17 year’s old and
lived during the Coptic Roman period.

Archaeologists
and engineers had to move around 45tonnes of rock to get to the hidden
artwork and another unidentified structure close by, which is connected
to the tombs by a set of very worn steps is currently being
investigated.

+4

Gateway to the afterlife? The underground
structure is situated in the middle of what was a processional route
joining the Nile with the Osireion - the temple dedicated to Osiris -
which is one of the greatest findings of Oxyrhynchus. The god is
pictured in this painting in theTomb of Pashedu in Luxor, Egypt
alongside - Orus, the hawk god protector of Osiris

No-one
is sure of what lies inside it, but experts from the University of
Barcelona think it might be a temple, perhaps dedicated to god Serapis -
the Hellenistic form of Osiris who is the ancient Egyptian god of the
afterlife.

The
structures are situated in the middle of what was a processional route
joining the Nile with the Osireion, the temple dedicated to Osiris,
which is one of the greatest findings of Oxyrhynchus.

Egypt's Minister of Antiquities, Mohamed Ibrahim, has become personally involved with the excavation, The Local reported.

The Egyptian ministry will develop the archaeological site to preserve the early Christian artwork.